Kenneth Rijock

Monday, May 12, 2014

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS €90m AGAINST TURKEY

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has entered a judgment of ninety million Euros, against the Government of Turkey, for damages suffered by Greek Cypriots during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the subsequent occupation of the northern portion of the island, which has never been accepted by the international community.

The amount awarded is to be divided as follows:
(1) €30m to go to the relatives of the 1456 Greek Cypriots missing in the aftermath of the invasion.
(2) €60m to go to Greek Cypriot residents of the Karpas Peninsula, and former residents of the area, which is in the northern part of the island, in the Turkish occupied zone.

Whether the announcement of this judgment throws cold water on the recent joint Greco-Turkish talks at unification, and thereby, on Country Risk for Cyprus, is too early to call, but the ECHR case could sour the improvement of relations.